Introduction

Das Werk, in a video on their web site, says this is their own original work, and is not a rebox of some other manufacturer. I could find no evidence of a 1/35 kit of this subject, the Wanze. There are a couple of the vehicle’s predecessor that didn’t have the rocket launcher. The box art says “in cooperation with Amusing Hobby” so I assume they did the production of the sprues.

The Bogward IV was the largest of three remotely controlled “demolition” vehicles used in the early 1940s. The name comes from the owner of the company that produced it. The two smaller vehicles were remotely driven to their target and detonated in place. The Bogward carried a much larger charge, and was driven by an operator to a position near its target, where the operator disembarked (at great peril) and then remotely drove it to the target where it dropped its charge, and then was driven away before the charge exploded.

Near the end of the war about 56 were converted to a PanzerJager Wanze armed with the six anti-tank rockets. These saw service during the EndKampf primarily in Berlin. They weren’t terribly successful. A few were apparently captured by the Russians, and repainted for their own use.

Review

The Kit: consists of four sprues, one A, two B and one C. See the picture.

The A sprue has pieces that make up the body of the vehicle

The B sprues have the running gear, link and length tracks

The C sprue has the rocket launcher

There are a few sink marks, but most are in hidden areas. The right wall has some that might be visible through the driver compartment, so I filled those (see picture).

Decals: There is one small decal sheet with markings for both German and Russian vehicles.

Photo Etch: none

Instructions: Are a twelve page booklet of an odd color I can’t name, because I’m color blind. The splotches seen in the pictures are actually printed there. The contrast in the pictures is enhanced, the actual printing is somewhat hard to read.

Color guide: Is provided for five vehicles, four German and one Russian. The paint call outs are from MIG.

Construction: Because this is such a small simple kit, I decided to go ahead and build it for the review.

The fit of the parts was quite good. I had a bit of trouble getting the upper hull to mate with the lower, but a bit of persuasion with clamps resolved that.

The tracks a “link and length” in this case, there are quite a few links, and not so much length. I did a section for the pictures, but not complete, because I found the links a bit fiddly.

Conclusion

This is a nice little kit of a little know subject, and would be a nice addition to a street scene diorama.